Movement V:
Lauds
Haleth faced the Elf lord in her armor, with her
sword and dagger at her side. Slightly behind her, Malron held her bow
and
arrows. “I am Haleth Haldad’s daughter, and today I thank you for
saving my
people,” she said. “On behalf of the Haladin, I offer our heartfelt
thanks and
honor.”
“The honor is ours, lady Haleth,” the Elf lord
replied, inclining his head. “Your people fought bravely, and it was
our
pleasure to aid you. But come, let us share a cup of wine in a token of
friendship.”
“Gladly, lord,” she murmured. The Elf lord waved
one of his warriors forward with a wineskin. Another brought cups and
the two
seated themselves upon the ground. The Elf lord poured the wine, and
Haleth
gravely lifted her cup to him. “I honor you and yours, my lord.”
“And I you and your people, lady Haleth.” They
drank of the wine, and Haleth said, “If I may have your name, my lord?”
He smiled. “I am Caranthir of the Noldor, son of
Fëanor.
Long have my kin fought against the orcs, and when we heard of a great
host to
the south, I hastened here as quickly as I could.”
“And for that, I thank you,” she said, but she also
thought, But you were not in time to save
Arion, Haldad, and Haldar. She somehow kept a perfect mask upon her
face
and smiled at Caranthir, although she was not quite able to warm to him.
“But what are your plans? You cannot stay here and
rebuild; I fear that the orcs will come again in another few years. If
you
would remove from this place and dwell further north, there you shall
have the
friendship and protection of the Eldar and free lands of your own.”
For one moment, Haleth was tempted to accept. She
was so weary of fighting. But her own pride rebelled, especially when
the
Haladin muttered at this.
We are too
used to freedom to serve under the Eldar.
So she answered, “Your offer is kind, my lord
Caranthir, and I beg your pardon, but I must refuse. I fear that my
people are
too used to making our own way and living under our own laws.”
“Then where shall you go?”
“If it does not bother you overmuch, I would stay
here until my brother’s child is born. But my mind is now set, lord, to
leave
the shadows of the mountains, and go west, whither others of our kin
have gone.”
“As you will,” Caranthir replied. “I and mine shall
leave soon after we rout the last of the orcs from this land. You shall
be safe
here for a while until the child is born. But I will not trouble your
hospitality overlong, and it is time we left. Farewell, lady Haleth.”
“Farewell, my lord Caranthir,” she said as the
Elves prepared to march forth.
Then she turned to her people. “Haladin, there are
several tasks for us. One, we must bring back our dead. We must also
search for
our other kinsmen who were not part of the keep. And we must care for
our
wounded. Malron, you’re in charge of bringing back our dead. Gelvar,
you’re to
direct the searchers. Janya, take care of the healers.”
The Haladin silently dispersed into three groups,
each according to their skill. Haleth joined Malron; although it was a
distasteful task, she should help, because the dead were her
responsibility. Malron left her bow and arrows inside his hall
then led out his helpers into the field.
Hours later, as the sun began to set, Haleth
ventured forth once more, this time to search for her old sword. It was
a good
weapon, and she could not afford to waste anything.
But when she returned to where Malron had laid it,
she could not find it. There was a depression in the ground where it
had been,
but the sword itself was no longer there. She searched for it
frantically until
Malron dragged her back to the keep, and she promised herself to look
for it
tomorrow.
But she could not find it as days stretched into
weeks. Smoke rose from the keep almost continuously as the Haladin
burned their
dead and placed the ashes into a large urn so that they could take them
west.
People either healed or died, and funeral pyres grew ever larger. But
Gelvar
did find other Haladin who had fled when the orcs had first begun their
attacks. These new Haladin willingly bent their knees to Haleth and
joined in
the grueling work. But when their labors stopped at last, the Haladin
held a
great feast and asked Haleth to lead them into the west. She accepted,
and then
the Haladin settled down to wait for Janya’s child to be born.
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